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Photoshop Skills #2: Lightening Under-Eye Circles

Sometimes those under-eye bags can get a little out of control. I did a photo shoot once (where I was the subject, actually!) where I was laying down on my back looking back up at the camera from the floor. The circles under my eyes were so ridiculous, I felt like I looked 70 years old. I did this photoshop technique and it actually turned into my favorite picture of the bunch.

I’m going to tell you one of the many ways you can soften dark under-eye circles. You definitely do NOT want to eliminate them, or your subject will look puffy-eyed. Just soften. And only when the image really needs it.

The circles on this image aren’t even that bad, but for the sake of this tutorial, we will soften them anyway.

Step 1: Get your clone tool! The clone tool essentially takes a picture of one part of your photo and stamps it anywhere you choose. Most of the time (for blemishes, etc.), I use this tool in its original form. Today, we are going to change the blend mode and flow (you’ll see what I mean in a sec) for a different usage. Hit “s” as a shortcut to get the clone tool selected.

Note: The clone tool can take on many different shapes. You will probably need to change your stamp shape to a soft round brush, probably about 100 pixels wide depending on your image. Up at the top left of photoshop, there is a tiny arrow you can click on to select your brush shape and size (see picture below – just under file and edit is the brush shape and size drop down).

Step 2: Change the blend mode to “lighten” and the flow to 20%.

Step 3: Alt+Click on a lighter section of cheekbone. Your clone tool just took a picture of that in the shape of your soft round brush.

Step 4: Let go of alt. Then go up under the eye and ‘sweep’ across the dark circle. The clone tool is basically putting the lighter cheekbone ‘picture’ onto the new spot you just swept across. With the “lighten” and 20% selected, it’s helping to blend it all into a perfectly believable, softened under-eye.

Just for fun: put your mode back to ‘normal’ and your flow back to 100% and try it again. You will see what the clone tool normally does. …..Now Ctl + Z to undo that, because your person looks silly and puffy now.